


No Strings To Hold Me Down - Part One

by StarSpangledBucky



Series: Stucky [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Brainwashing, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Confessions, Court, Dark Past, Emotional Hurt, Emotions, First Kiss, Fluff, Guilty Or Not Guilty, Italy, Jail, Love Confessions, M/M, Manhattan, Memories, New York, Norsk | Norwegian, Norway (Country), Original Character(s), Protective Steve Rogers, Romance, Steve Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Torture, Travel, Violence, Washington D.C., Winter, romania - Freeform, Русский | Russian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-09
Updated: 2015-03-09
Packaged: 2018-03-17 01:36:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3510302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarSpangledBucky/pseuds/StarSpangledBucky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Winter Soldier is a distant memory, but Bucky Barnes can still recall what he did. As he awaits to stand trial against his apparent crimes, he torments himself with the past in his dreams. Steve is right there with him on his trail day, and with it their short story of how they fell in love before the trial. Bucky believes he will be found guilty, but some unexpected confessions are made, and maybe...just maybe, Bucky Barnes can be free.</p><p>"I'm with you till the end of the line, pal,"</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Strings To Hold Me Down - Part One

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly have no idea how this came about. I just started writing and writing, and then I ended up with this. If anything I wanted to add my own little thing into what went on, an entirely different story. Plus I just wanted a happy ending Steve x Bucky, with lots of feelings. I cried a lot believe me. I added a lot of my own original characters, and I honestly can't say any more to it. Also I have no idea how a court hearing goes down, I just had to completely wing it, I'm no law student. Feel free to correct my translations.
> 
> I can be found on tumblr at starspangled-bucky

**_Bucharest, Romania, 1952_ **

Once woken from cryostasis,  _The Winter Soldier_ , previously  _Bucky Barnes_ , was stationed in Romania for his next mission. His memory was sketchy, torn apart into millions of pieces, he himself was torn apart and put back together. Only mentally and emotionally, like he was an experiment. He only vaguely remembered a _Dr. Arnim Zola_ from his flashbacks. Hydra captured him long ago, back in the forties, he had limited memories of what happened before. The only thing that flashed before his mind was blue eyes and blonde hair. He had no idea what it meant, he knew it was somebody he may have known, it should be someone he knew. Bucky remembered falling, from a train, he didn’t know how or why. Was he being too risky? But he knew that when he wasn’t being wiped, that somebody had tried to save him, Bucky was protecting them, he’d  _died_  for them. Hydra captured him quickly before anybody could go back to search for his body. In his head he shouldn’t be alive, he didn’t know how he survived the fall. But now he was a weapon, a machine, an empty casket with no remorse. Yet sometimes when he was allowed to sleep at night without being in cryo, his old self screamed inside his head.

_“You remember Steve!”_

_Steve._  The name sounded familiar on his tongue, but he couldn’t put a face to it.

_“Steve, he was your best friend! Till’ the end of the line!”_

_Steve..._

Bucky stood on a rooftop in the main square, his gun resting on the ledge as he scanned his eyes down at the ground below. Crowds of citizens walked the streets, making it difficult for him to pinpoint his target. But he had Hydra soldiers on the ground, and in adjacent buildings, keeping their eyes peeled. He was targeting an apparent  _‘traitor’_  to Hydra,  _Constantin Lupei._  The ex-Hydra leader was said to be working for an organization that fought against Hydra, that had different orders, they were the  _‘good guys’_  in a sense. Bucky had met Constantin once before, only to be punched in the face when he failed to give a mission report, Constantin was his old leader. The team leader for this mission,  _Misha Volkov_ was still in Russia, the signal through Bucky’s earpiece was scratchy, but he got by.

“готовы?”  _Ready?_  he spoke roughly.

“да,” Bucky replied.

“зима, мы нашли его,”  _Winter, we found him_  Sevastian issued.

 _Sevastian Krupin_ , was only one of Bucky’s very few friends that he had. Even when he went back into cryo, he still managed to remember some people he had spent time with. Bucky looked down at the square, seeing two of his other teammates walking behind a man that caught his eye. It was Constantin, but a much older Constantin, Bucky hadn’t seen him in a long time.

“Target acquired,” Bucky answered.

“Kill him,” Misha ordered.

Bucky moved quickly to the corner of the rooftop, looking down the barrel of the gun as he eyed up Constantin. With no words, he fired, letting the sound crackle through the air as he hit his target. Constantin’s body collapsed to the ground in a pool of blood, Bucky had shot him on target in the back of the head.

“Well done зима, report back to base,” Misha commanded.

“да, сэр,”  _Yes, sir_  Bucky murmered.

He was gone within minutes, a ghost in the shadows. Bucky was quick and skillful like that, he lived up to his name, Winter Soldier. Yet it was only a matter of time before he started to rebel, before he truly saw what Hydra was all about.

* * *

**_Oslo, Norway, 1967_ **

Snow bucketed down on a freezing Winter night in the forest. Bucky was camped amongst the trees with a makeshift tent and a small fire crackling away. The snow blanketed the grounds, covering it like icing sugar, being at least three inches deep. His body was so used to the freezing temperatures of cryostasis that he didn’t need to wrap up in layers of warm clothing. Bucky kept his mask over his mouth, his eyes the only thing lit by the dull light from the fire. His eyes were distant and empty, his second wiping hadn’t gone down too well. Something inside him screamed to retaliate, he did, which resulted in him getting a gunshot wound to the leg. It hurt for a while until his super soldier serum started to heal it.

Misha died in 1960, in Volos, Greece, during the Spring time. His blood was on Bucky’s hands, he was a traitor, and Bucky had felt betrayed. For someone who should have no emotions, Bucky was furious, he opted to kill Misha himself, because he considered Misha a friend...once. Bucky’s new leader was from Germany,  _Lorenz Heidrich_ , said to be the most trusted person of Hydra. Bucky shouldn’t have believed it, but he had to, he needed someone to give him orders for him to follow. His head swam as he recalled the memory of a few hours ago.

_“зима, we have a new mission for you,” Lorenz mused, pacing around the soldier who stood with his hands behind his back, his feet spread slightly apart._

_“да сэр,” Bucky replied._

_The brunette only ever answered to anyone speaking Russian or English. His language skills were limited with anything beyond them. Sometimes he did pick up on some German, Norwegian and other languages in places that he had been. Yet even then Bucky had no time to learn._

_“A man by the name of Jørg will arrive at your camp in exactly eight hours from now. You will speak with him briefly where he will give to you a list of names. You must find them, and kill them. Do you understand?” Lorenz questioned._

_Bucky turned his head to the left to look at the older man, his eyes set in a stony stare._

**_“On your left,”_ **

_The brunette tensed suddenly, his mind flashing with past memories as he tried to shake them away. He’d never heard ‘on your left’ before, but it seemed like it was something for future reference. He saw the blonde hair and blue eyes again, the man was tall and he smiled widely. It was like Bucky was looking out of the eyes of someone else, or he himself, the old him._

**_“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you,”_ **

_He saw a scrawny blonde now, and another man, clean shaven and in military uniform. This man strangely looked like a younger version of himself, his hair was short and he had a mischievous gleam in his eyes._

**_“You’re a punk,”_ **

**_“Jerk,”_ **

**_“Bucky, no!”_ **

_A scream echoed in his head as he saw himself falling. The train memory again raced in front of his own eyes._

_Steve..._

_“зима!” Lorenz yelled, slapping him hard across the face._

_Bucky’s head snapped to the side, but he didn’t move, he didn’t retaliate. His eyes widened a fraction as the memories faded. What did they mean? Who is Steve? Who the hell is Bucky? he thought._

_“Sorry, sir,” he answered._

_“Remain focused Winter, we have no time to fool around,” the older man spat._

_Bucky stared straight ahead of him, his jaw clenching. Why wouldn’t they tell him anything?_

He shook his head to get rid of the memory, he wanted to forget. Bucky never understood why he had to be yelled at. Couldn’t he just think for a few minutes? Why was it bad for him to remember? Why was it bad for him to be out of cryostatsis for so long? He didn’t want to feel like this anymore, the brunette was feeling emotions, seeing things that shaped his past. Who was he?

“Who am I?” he whispered.

“Winter...” a deep voice spoke.

Bucky looked up, his gaze falling on a man no older than him with deathly pale skin, blue eyes and black hair. It had to be the man Lorenz was speaking of, his Norwegian accent was thick in his voice.

“Are you Jørg?” Bucky replied.

Jørg nodded once, holding out his gloved hand to the super soldier as a sign that he was of no threat. Bucky took his hand and shook it briefly, before he held his hand out to the log beside him.

“Sit,” he offered.

“Thank you,” Jørg answered, pulling his coat around him tighter. “Aren’t you cold?” he asked.

Bucky simply shook his head.

“My body can cope,” he mused.

“I see...your serum and all. Well, it’s nice to meet your acquaintance Winter. Surely you have another name that I may call you by?” he questioned.

“I only answer to Winter or зима,” Bucky grunted, looking down at his snow capped combat boots.

“Right, I have this list. There are six people here who need to be taken care of. They have formed an alliance with an organization we do not know of yet. All I know is that they are trying to take Hydra down,” Jørg explained.

The brunette nodded, taking the list out of Jørg’s hand as he folded it into a pocket on his vest.

“I’ll have it taken care of within an hour or two,” he issued.

Jørg nodded with a smile.

“Lykke til, Winter, it means good luck in Norwegian,” he hummed.

A small grin curved at the corner of Bucky’s mouth.

“удачи,” he responded. “It means good luck in Russian, you might need it,” he added.

Jørg turned his back to the brunette, and took only two steps before Bucky looked up again. He didn’t know why he was going to say what he did.

“Jørg!” he called.

“Yes?” Jørg replied, turning back around.

“In my head...I hear a name, I don’t know if it is my name, I don’t even know if it’s real. But...my mind tells me that...it’s Bucky,” the brunette spoke.

“Well, it was nice to meet you...Bucky,” the other man mused.

Bucky looked back at the fire, staring into the burning embers as Jørg began to walk back to wherever it may be that he came from. But not without pressing his fingers to his ears as he suddenly spoke to someone over an earpiece.

“He’s here sir, Bucky Barnes is in Norway,” Jørg reported.

His American twang echoed through the trees, hitting Bucky’s ears as he whipped his head up, hair flying out at the sudden force. He stood immediately, pulled his gun out and fired three gun shots into Jørg’s back. The American collapsed, painting the snow with a red tint as he choked out his last breath. Bucky trudged through the snow, his blood boiling as he approached the lifeless body.

“Bradley? Bradley do you copy!” a voice yelled over the earpiece.

Bucky picked it up and crushed it between his metal hand, drowning out the voice as he threw it away. How did Lorenz not detect that this Jørg man was American and not Norwegian. And the way he said that name... _Bucky Barnes_ , it made his head ache. The brunette patted his hands down the dead man’s coat, pulling out a letter addressed to  _Bradley_  who was now deceased.

_Hydra Target as ordered by S.H.I.E.L.D: James Buchanan Barnes, also known as Bucky. A.K.A: The Winter Soldier. Eliminate him._

“S.H.I.E.L.D?” Bucky whispered.

That’s all it said. The rest of it was blank, he was a target himself. Bucky threw the letter deep into the snow, burying it as far as he could. He knew he still had a mission, those names on the list he was given, they were familiar. This American must have planned to protect these people once he had given Bucky the list, that wouldn't be happening now after he had been killed by him. Bucky pulled it out and read through them, his eyes falling on the last one, which he stared at for longer than he thought he had. Right there in bold writing, clear as day, was the name  _Howard Stark._

_“You know him...”_

* * *

**_Rome, Italy, 1981_ **

Bucky failed to locate Howard Stark no matter how hard he tried. It seemed the man was smarter than he thought. Although, he didn’t have time to look for him anymore. Lorenz was dead in the Summer of ‘76 and Bucky was on the run, at least for the time being. At least this time he was not the reason as to why his leader was dead.

_“Winter...you must stop S.H.I.E.L.D. They are your enemy, they are dangerous,”_

Those were Lorenz’s last words before he passed from his bullet wounds to the chest. Bucky ran then, he escaped and travelled all over Europe, from Sweden to Spain, to France. He kept going and going until he found himself in Italy. He’d been out of cryo for far too long now, five years exactly, he was beginning to remember things, gripping onto them like they were buried treasures. His past life was beginning to unfold before him and he saw that a long, long time ago...he was once a good person. He made do with sleeping wherever he could, mostly in the streets. When he slept he was tormented by nightmares of all the torture and grief he went through. He wore the thousand-yard stare most days on his face. Blank, unfocused and battle-weary. Memories blinked before his eyes, day in, day out, sometimes he couldn’t even keep up with them.

_“Where are we going?”_

_“The future,”_

That scrawny little blonde kid flashed before his eyes all the time. Then the tall, muscular blonde would whip by too. Bucky knew that they had to be the same person. They had to be, they had to be someone that he knew. Their name... _Steve_...it kept screaming at him, but Bucky still couldn’t grasp it.

_“I thought you were dead,”_

_“I thought you were smaller,”_

“Bucky? Bucky...” a soft voice spoke, shaking him.

Bucky flinched, his metal arm swinging out as he grasped an elderly woman’s wrist tightly. She let out a small yelp, but otherwise remained calm. The brunette’s eyes widened slightly, as he let go, holding his arm close to himself. He’d began using the name that had been swirling in his head,  _Bucky_ , whether it really was his name or not, he used it. He didn’t want to be remembered as Winter, or зима. As far as he knew, he fought for no one, he was a lone soldier now.

“Scusa,”  _Sorry_  he whispered.

On his third month in Italy he was found by an Italian couple who owned a small house in the city. They took him in with no questions asked, offering him food and a roof over his head. Bucky had forgotten what it was like to be cared for and often found himself getting stubborn with them. He tried his best to be stable, but he had been tortured and woken from cryostasis so many times his mental state was decreasing dramatically. They’d taught him a little Italian, even though they spoke English fairly well. He only ever had to use it a couple of times.

“It’s alright Bucky,” she soothed.

“I-” he paused, looking away as his jaw clenched. “I can’t remember your name,” he breathed out.

She smiled sadly with her worn out eyes, giving Bucky’s hand a gentle squeeze. He couldn’t feel the touch, only the weight, he hated the metal arm sometimes.

“My name is Eva, my husband his name is Camillo,” she answered.

Bucky’s hand gripped Eva’s as he felt his eyes moisten.  _Why am I crying?_  he thought.

“Eva...please don’t let them take me,” he wavered.

“Who? Who would take you my little treasure?” Eva questioned.

“Bad people,” Bucky choked out. “These people think they are doing good, but they took me from my home. I remember-” he paused, shaking his head. “I remember falling from a train, and someone tried to reach for me. I survived and I don’t know how. But I was taken by Hydra, they made me into this. I’m a weapon,” he added.

“They will not harm you here,” Eva crooned.

“Eva!” a voice yelled.

“Camillo,” she gasped.

The brunette was on his feet as he raced outside, his eyes falling on Camillo who was being held by a soldier in familiar uniform.  _No_  Bucky thought.

“Give us Winter and no one will be hurt,” the soldier ordered.

“No! You are not taking him! Bucky are these the bad people?” Eva asked.

Bucky’s metal arm trembled as he closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath, trying to remain calm.

“Give us Winter now!” the soldier yelled.

“You will not touch him!” Eva spat.

“So be it,” the soldier growled.

Gunshots went off as Bucky’s eyes snapped open, his gaze falling on Camillo who lay dead on the grass. Eva screamed and went racing to her husband.

“EVA!” Bucky exclaimed.

Another shot and Eva’s body dropped, blood spraying from the bullet wound to her head. Bucky let out a low cry as he stepped back, his heart pounding in his chest. He had to flee, he couldn’t go back there, he couldn’t go back to Hydra. Bucky broke into a run as he jumped onto the roof and began sprinting along the rooftops.

“зима!” the soldier roared, in anger.

Bucky’s breathing was ragged as he raced as quickly as he could to get away. He thought he was safe, he thought he had finally found some closure. But now here they were again, Hydra, chasing after him like a greyhound after a rabbit. His arms and legs ached but he kept running, he had to escape. Shots fired in the distance and Bucky’s heart rate jumped as fear set in. He turned a corner and jumped down onto the streets, bumping into a few citizens who cursed at him in Italian, shaking their fists. Soon they were screaming when three Hydra soldiers came charging down the streets after the super soldier.

“Get him from all possible angles!” one soldier commanded.

“Get out of the way!” Bucky yelled. “Get out of the way!” he continued, dodging a stall that sat outside a shop.

More gunfire went off and the brunette choked out a grunt as one hit him on the back of the leg. He collapsed to the stone roads, smacking his head against the hard surface as his vision blurred. Bucky tried to pull himself back up, but he was kicked to the ground. The pain surged up his body as he let out a shallow moan, his eyes watering slightly.

“Don’t move!” a soldier spat.

“нет! нет!”  _No! No!_  he roared, struggling against the hands that gripped his arms behind his back.

Bucky got free, striking a soldier across the face as his serum started to work on healing his leg. He scrambled up and started to run again, only to stop when a man stood in his path. The man was tall, and young, Bucky didn’t know how old he must be. Loose strands of Bucky’s hair blew over his face as he stared directly at the man, his chest heaving up and down.

“You put on quite a show there,” he spoke, his American accent thick and clear.

He stepped forward, but Bucky stepped back, his hands balling into fists.

“We’re not here to hurt you,” he continued. “We’re here to help. Here to take you home,” he explained.

“нет,” Bucky growled, his eyes narrowing afterwards.

His new acquaintance simply nodded and smiled as he turned his back.

“Oh by the way...” he mused, turning his head back to look at Bucky.

Bucky’s gaze met his again, steely and void of all the fear he had when he was running from the soldiers.

“Sputnik,” he added.

His entire body went into shutdown as he fell back to the ground, falling into an unconscious state. He was handcuffed by the Hydra soldiers as the older man approached his still body. The man crouched and eyed Bucky with a small smile, his eyes gleaming.

“Get him in the back of the van. We’re taking him back to America,” he ordered.

“Yes sir,” a soldier responded.

He was captured again, there was nothing he could do. Bucky was a prisoner yet again. And the man who put him in that state, later became the man he knew as  _David Paterson._

* * *

**_New York, USA, 1991_ **

_It was a Friday, December 17th. Bucky was wiped clean again and had no recollection of Italy. He’d been put back in cryo, and he’d been manhandled like a laboratory experiment, yet again. His next mission was one he had been waiting on for years. He had to make it look like an accident, those were his orders. Howard Stark had been located, but he was much older now. Bucky stood at attention, being addressed by his new leader David, taking in all necessary information._

_“Puncture the tires, throw the grenade, make sure Howard Stark is dead before leaving. You know what to do,” David issued._

Bucky now stood on a road that wasn’t so busy so early in the morning. He kept his eyes out for the target that he had been assigned to. His mask covered his mouth and his goggles sat over his eyes.

_“Don’t do this, you know this man,”_

He shook away the voice in his head, grasping his gun to shoot the tires in one hand, and a grenade in the other to complete the mission. His gaze looked up and down either side of the road, and he could hear murmurs over his earpiece. He’d been waiting for this moment for too long, Howard wasn’t going to escape him now.

“Target approaching,” a voice spoke.

Bucky whipped his head up, seeing the big monster of a car approaching. He strode out onto the road, his hair blowing in the erratic winds. The brunette lifted his gun as he aimed dead on target, the front tires were first, then the grenade would go under.

_“Stop,”_

He ignored the voice yet again.

“Now,” David commanded.

The shots were fired, piercing the rubber of the tires as a loud screech echoed in the air. Bucky’s metal arm whirred and clinked as he threw the grenade, watching it skid along the road, detonating right on cue. The car flipped and Bucky moved out of the way with one quick swing of his body. He watched the car slide by before it flipped, once, twice...three times, before coming to a halt. Smoke billowed from the crushed bonnet as Bucky approached the car, his boots heavy on the road. His eyes scanned over the damage, before he looked up and saw two people inside, a man and a woman.

The woman was dead, her head hanging down with blood running down her forehead, but the man stirred with a low groan. Bucky strode slowly around to his side, seeing the man’s eyes open as he stared at the brunette. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped short as the life left his eyes. The brunette stared for a moment, taking his goggles off as he stared at the man. His brows furrowed as a younger man’s face flashed in his mind, some of the man’s features fitted those to that of the deceased man in the car.

_“You know him...”_

He couldn’t have.

“Winter, get out of there now, report back to base,” David ordered.

Bucky heard sirens in the distance as he pocketed his gun and disappeared into the shadows, leaving no evidence behind. It looked like an accident, the mission was complete. As Bucky ran he thought back to all the times he nearly had Howard Stark dead. Now he finally had and the blood rushed through his blood stream. But deep down he was screaming, his old self was begging for him to try and remember. He couldn’t, when he got wiped, he got wiped of every important detail so that he didn’t try to escape again.

_“Let’s hear it for Captain America!”_

Red, white and blue stopped him in his tracks, the colours blinding him as he fell against a wall. His vision was blurred as he saw the blonde and blue yet again. _Who the hell are you?_  he thought.

_“You’re keeping the outfit right?”_

_“I had him on the ropes,”_

Bucky yelled in frustration as he dropped to his knees and clutched his head, breathing raggedly. An  _‘S’_  span around in his head, followed by a  _‘T’_  and then an  _‘E’_. It went on until it spelled out Steve and Bucky screwed his eyes shut to shake it away.

“Get out of my head!” he screamed.

He heard a laugh echo in his head.

_“I’m with you till' the end of the line,”_

* * *

**_Washington DC, USA, 2014_ **

_He was there in front of him, the man on the bridge, the one with the blonde hair, the blue eyes. Alexander Pierce was now leading Hydra and Bucky had become acquainted with him not long after David went into hiding. Bucky hadn’t a clue where he was now. Because again he found himself being wiped, to create a clean slate. The blonde was accompanied by a woman, Bucky could have sworn he’d seen her before. They were there to capture the pair, S.H.I.E.L.D had been infiltrated by Hydra and was officially compromised. Steve and Natasha were now fugitives. Bucky had appeared out of no where on the bridge, flipping onto their car and taking the wheel out of the car. They were accompanied by another man, Sam Wilson, the one who was driving the car._

_Bucky didn’t know this of course, he couldn’t even put a name on the blonde, even if he saw his face flash before his eyes. The brunette found himself fighting with the blonde the most, bringing out his daggers and swiping at him. His fist clanged into the shield that the blonde had, the sound echoing down the streets like a church bell. It wasn’t long before Bucky was suddenly flipped over and his mask was pulled off. He stood up slowly after tumbling forward, his head whipping around to glare at the blonde. Steve stared back at him in complete shock, his eyes squinting slightly as his lips parted._

_“Bucky?” he spoke._

_“Who the hell is Bucky?” the brunette replied._

_He’d managed to escape soon after once Natasha had fired at him, making his exit through the smoke that dispersed in the air. He was back at the base, sitting in a chair, the thousand yard stare evident on his face. His hands balled into fists, clenching and un-clenching as he breathed in and out, slowly. He’d already had guns pointed at him for causing trouble, and punching a few workers as they stood around him. Pierce came walking in soon after, taking his glasses off his face as he looked straight at Bucky._

_“Mission report,” he ordered._

_Bucky remained silent, still unfocused and distant._

_“Mission report, now," Pierce spat._

_When Pierce’s hand connected with his face, he snapped out of his trance, but lifted his head back up slowly._

_“That man on the bridge...” he spoke._

_The flashback of Steve returned again, of him saying his name. Bucky._

_“Who was he?” he asked._

_“You met him earlier this week on another assignment,” Alexander answered._

_“I knew him,” Bucky replied, his jaw clenching slightly._

_Pierce placed himself in front of Bucky, staring at him with a stern look._

_“Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped this century, and I need you to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning we're gonna' give it a push. But if you don't do your part, I can't do mine, and HYDRA can't give the world the freedom it deserves,” he explained._

_“But I knew him,” Bucky breathed out._

_A sad smile curved at the corner of his mouth, before it disappeared, his eyes distant again._

_“Prep him,” Pierce ordered._

_“He's been out of cryo-freeze too long,” a scientist issued._

_Bucky felt his heart hammering in his chest, his eyes watering as he looked away, his eyes fixed on the ground. He felt sick to his stomach. Not again he thought. He didn’t want to go through all the torture again._

_“Then wipe him and start over,” Pierce ordered._

_He was pushed back in the chair and given a teeth shield as he took it willingly. Bucky had no other choice, he had to obey his orders. When he felt himself being moved back his chest started to heave up and down. He waited, hearing the machines start up as he felt pressure on the side of his head._

_“ARGH!” he screamed, the pain rushing through his system._

_His screams echoed through the room as Pierce left him there to be wiped. Bucky’s teeth clenched down on the guard and he continued to scream as the veins popped up on his skin. The surges of pain were unbelievable, he didn’t know how he managed to suffer it all. Every memory he had of Steve was beginning to fade away._

_Steve..._

_“Remember him...”_

Now, Bucky found himself standing on a bridge on a Hellicarrier, his eyes locked on the figure that was running up there. The figure slowed and Bucky saw the red, white and blue suit, the shield, and the blue eyes he’d kept seeing over and over. He remained silent as Steve stared back at him, his eyes speaking with all the emotion that he was feeling. Bucky had to stop him from fixing what Hydra had done, it was his mission. Steve...was his mission.

“People are gonna’ die Buck. I can’t let that happen,” Steve breathed out.

Bucky stared at him, coldly.

“Please don’t make me do this,” he pleaded.

When Bucky still wouldn’t back down, Steve acted, throwing his shield towards his best friend. They battled each other, throwing punches and dodging whenever they could. As they kept fighting, Steve brought up the targeting blade system but Bucky attacked him swiftly and the chip that the blonde needed so desperately fell from his hand and slid over the edge. Bucky stabbed his knife into Steve’s shoulder and the blonde cried out as Bucky slid down and grabbed the fallen chip. His opponent pulled the knife from his shoulder and grabbed Bucky by the throat to hold him down. Bucky let out an animal like yell as he struggled with Steve, his body flailing slightly.

“Drop it! Drop it!” Steve exclaimed.

Bucky still kept a firm grip on the chip, until Steve broke his right arm, the cracking sound echoing as the brunette screamed in pain. Steve’s arm was around his throat again as he blocked Bucky’s airway, his body going limp. He’d passed out and Steve had to act quickly as he grabbed the chip and ran to finish the job. Steve clambered his way up to the system, flinching when a gunshot was fired. Bucky was up on his feet again, his right arm held close to his side as he fired the gun with his left. He looked angered, but his eyes were empty as they always had been. Steve had managed to reach the system, but Bucky fired again, hitting Steve in the stomach as he collapsed and fell down to the floor.

“Fire now,” Steve ordered.

The super soldier can hear someone yelling at Steve and he shifts slightly to try and find the blonde again.

“Do it! Do it now!” he yelled.

There’s rumbling as the Hellicarriers start to fire on each other. Bucky’s balance flattered as he lost grip on his gun. Explosions rang out as the second Hellicarrier blasted the third, debris falling down on them. Bucky was hit by falling rubble and he screamed, trying to free himself. The Hellicarrier was shaking as Steve stumbled over, falling a couple of times as he grabbed the rubble Bucky was trapped under. He was able to pull himself out from under it as he stood up again. Why did he help him?

“You know me,” Steve rasped.

Bucky lashed out at Steve, striking him across the face.

“No I don’t!” he roared.

“Bucky, you've known me your whole life,” Steve replied.

Bucky punched Steve yet again but Steve decided not to fight back. He couldn’t fight the man he had grown up with. They were just two kids from Brooklyn, they always had been.

“Your name is James Buchanan Barnes,” the blonde continued, walking forward.

The brunette hit Steve for the third time and stared at him with wide eyes.

“Shut up!” he screamed.

Steve struggled to get up again, before he took his mask off and let his shield fall out of the Hellicarrier. Bucky wanted to know why he wasn’t fighting back.

“I'm not gonna fight you. You're my friend” he choked out.

The soldier lunged at the blonde, knocking him onto his back as more explosions echoed through the Hellicarrier. He had Steve pinned to the ground, his hand fisted into his suit.

“You're my mission,” he growled.

Bucky mercilessly attacked his old friend with several punches to the face, grunting and yelling out as he stopped as soon as he shed blood. Steve is battered and bruised by the time The Winter Soldier was finished with him. He went to lift his hand again to deliver the final blow when Steve speaks.

“Then finish it,” he breathed out.

Bucky hesitated.

“Cause I'm with you till' end of the line,” Steve added.

It was as if a switch had flicked in Bucky’s brain that opened up every single memory from the forties. They were buried deep inside his brain and they raced by him in his head. Scrawny, sick Steve who he looked after so he didn’t lose his best pal, skinny Steve who never backed down from a fight even if it was with someone twice his size. Bucky’s heart beat drummed in his ears as he stared at Steve wide eyed, the blonde was almost unrecognizable under all the bruises and blood. The brunette saw more memories, Steve rescuing him when he got his serum, the pair of them marching back to base with all of the survivors.

_“Let’s hear it for Captain America!”_

_“You’re a punk,”_

_“Jerk,”_

_“Thing is...you don’t have to be,”_

He saw himself, the clean shaven sarcastic Bucky who cared so much for his best friend Steven Grant Rogers.

_“107th. Sergeant James Barnes. Shipping out for England, first thing tomorrow,”_

The bottom of the Hellicarrier gave way and Bucky was left hanging onto a piece of metal as Steve fell. Bucky watched him fall into the river, he dove in after him, he remembered something now.

_Steve...I remember you._

* * *

**_Manhattan, USA, 2015_ **

The loud clanging of a baton against metal bars pulled Bucky out of his sleep. He sat bolt upright on the rickety bed, his body cold and covered in nervous sweat. The clanging went on and on as more groans came from the rooms adjacent to the brunette. His chest heaved up and down until he managed to calm himself, his breath slowing to a normal rate.

“Rise and shine boys!” a voice called.

A year he spent in jail, a whole damn year with other convicted, murderers, robbers and drug doers. After Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D fell, Bucky had no where else to go. With Alexander Pierce dead, there was no one left to take his place, all of Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D’s secrets were out to the whole world anyway. Bucky visited The Smithsonian, going undercover and walking around the entire Captain America exhibit. He saw himself, Steve, The Howling Commandos, he saw everything.

_“Best friends since childhood...Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers, were inseparable, in both schoolyard and battlefield,”_

Bucky stared at that video for a long time, watching how he and Steve laughed and smiled together. Just the two of them, against the rest of the world. The brunette began to remember things again overtime, everything about Steve, about past Bucky. He’d been arrested on an Autumn evening when someone reported the sighting of him. It turns out he forgot to wear his glove over his metal hand and it wasn’t that hard to recognize The Winter Soldier’s distinct feature. Police had swarmed in on him and Bucky was obedient, giving himself up entirely.

His trail was in exactly fifteen minutes, and he was beginning to wonder what would happen. He’d talked to lawyers, trying to explain to them that it wasn’t him and that he was brainwashed by Hydra, torn apart and put back together in a bad condition. Eventually he gave up on lawyers, and decided to go without one. The only real thing he didn’t expect was a visit from an old friend. He sat back on his bed, pulling his knees up to his chest as the flashback played, his eyes closing slowly.

_“Barnes, you’ve got a visitor,” the guard spoke._

_Bucky was sketching something in a book that a fellow inmate had let him have. He didn’t even ask for his name, but at least he knew someone cared, sort of. The brunette lifted his head from the sketch of Steve, as he blinked away tears._

_“Who is it?” he asked weakly._

_“Just get out here, you don’t have long,” the guard ordered._

_The brunette hated being ordered around again. He’d had enough of that in life, not to mention he had to hide himself from other prisoners. He had a fresh bruise on his right cheek from that morning, he didn’t even want to think about it again. Bucky stood and dropped the sketchpad on his bed as he walked over to the door. The guard opened it and took Bucky’s arm in his hand as he led him down the corridor. Other inmates yelled at him and slammed on their doors as the brunette kept his head low. Nothing was great about prison, he had to admit that._

_“He’s in there, you’ve got ten minutes,” the guard issued._

_Bucky walked into the room where another guard stood at the far end. His eyes fell on him as he swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling threatened like a caged animal._

_“Bucky?” a voice soothed._

_His heart nearly jumped out of his chest as he turned his head and saw crystal blue eyes staring at him. Bucky’s eyes pooled with tears as he slowly walked, more like staggered his way over to the chair where a window was, a hole cut in the middle of it. Steve sat down in the chair at the other side, his eyes looking over Bucky._

_“God you’re a mess Buck,” he whispered._

_“I’ve had worse,” the brunette replied, trying to make light of the situation._

_Steve smiled sadly._

_“How are you doin’ Bucky?” he asked. “I can call you Bucky, right?” he continued, hope burning in his eyes._

_“Yes, of course...please,” Bucky begged, his hands resting on the small wooden shelf that sat out from the window._

_The blonde sucked in a breath as he stared at Bucky again. His eyes started to water as he looked away and let out a choked sob._

_“Steve...” Bucky breathed out._

_“I’m sorry,” Steve replied._

_He looked back at Bucky and ran his hands down his face before his eyes fell on Bucky again. Bucky didn’t know if they were tears of joy, or sadness...he didn’t know what Steve was feeling._

_“Steve I-” Bucky paused. “Please know that it wasn’t me that did this. I didn’t...I didn’t want to kill those people, it was him, The Winter Soldier. I didn’t want to kill Howard Stark, I didn’t want to hurt you...” he sobbed, tears streaming down his face. “I wish I’d never survived that fall, at least it wouldn’t hurt as much as this does,” he choked out, covering his mouth with his hand._

_“Hey, hey,” Steve soothed. “I know...I know Buck, you’d never want to do this. We’ll fix this, we’ll prove you’re not guilty. You can come home, you can come and live with me,” he added. “We’ll build those forts like we used to when we were kids and we’ll watch stupid TV and eat our weight in junk food and beer,” he continued, wiping away tears that rolled down his cheeks._

_Bucky bit his lip as he looked down and nodded slightly._

_“But what if I don’t get out?” he asked._

_“You will, I’ll damn well make sure of it Buck. You’re not doing this alone,” the blonde assured him._

_“Steve don’t,” Bucky pleaded._

_He knew what was coming._

_“I’m with you till the end of the line pal,” Steve choked out._

_Bucky broke down into sobs, his emotions becoming overwhelming as he slammed his fist on the table, breaking it in half. It was enough to alert the guard and make him take action, stepping forward with his baton out._

_“Bucky calm down you’ll be okay!” Steve exclaimed._

_The brunette was dragged out of the room and thrown back into his cell roughly. Not getting to say goodbye to Steve because of his stupid actions made him break down even more. He curled up on his bed and wept until he passed out from exhaustion._

When the memory faded, fresh tears slid down Bucky’s cheek as he quickly wiped them away. Steve visited as much as he could, which was nearly everyday. He requested for longer time with Bucky each time, he was granted it, simply because he was Captain America. The hours grew longer and Bucky didn’t feel so alone when he went back to his cell, because he knew Steve would be coming back. He remembered when Steve sent him mail and a replica of his old dog tags were in it, he sobbed for hours and never let them go. Steve had to explain that his actual tags were stuck at The Smithsonian in the exhibit. The visits became so frequent and lengthy that Bucky was starting to question what it was he truly wanted with Steve now.

Overtime, over the year that Bucky had spent in prison, feelings grew, and Bucky knew things were changing. He recalled the times Steve would smile at him, and look at him with adoration. But Bucky knew that Steve had always looked at him like that, and Bucky had looked at Steve that way too. He couldn’t help but feel that maybe this all stemmed from all those years ago, it was so taboo, but times had changed and they both seemed alright with the thought. Steve would draw little pictures in a book for Bucky and show him then when he came back to visit, a lot of them were him, or both of them. The blonde wrote sneaky little notes and held them up to the glass for Bucky to see. He wrote them in Russian so the guard had no fucking clue as to what it said. The brunette thought about the day Steve showed him a note that changed everything about their friendship right there and then.

_Steve came back a week before Bucky’s trial, on a Wednesday, his notebook hiding in his jacket pocket as usual. He sat down in front of the window and smiled when Bucky appeared in the room, his hair tied back, a look that the blonde had come to love._

_“Hey you,” he crooned._

_“Hi,” Bucky whispered, smiling sheepishly._

_“You look beautiful,” Steve hummed._

_Bucky’s breath hitched in his throat as he looked away with a blush crossing his cheeks._

_“Stop it...” he breathed out._

_Steve grinned as he pulled the notebook out. They’d been flirting with each other over the months that Bucky spent in jail. It was clearly evident and news about Steve’s doings made headlines quick, not that he gave a damn._

_“I want everybody to know about us Buck,” he said._

_“What the hell happened to shy Steve?” Bucky retorted._

_“He fell in love with a handsome fella...” the blonde mused._

_“What?” Bucky replied, eyes widening a fraction._

_The brunette’s heart rate thudded with a soft ‘dun-dun’ as he stared at Steve, not even blinking once. Steve turned to a page in his notebook, his eyes fixed on the page as he pulled out a pen and began writing a note. Bucky shifted in his seat and pushed a strand of his loose hair behind his ear. A light tap brought his gaze back up to the window as he looked at the note._

_“Я тебя люблю Bucky,” he whispered._

_His eyes fell closed as he let out a shallow breath, his hands covering his eyes as he tried to hide the tears._

_“Don’t cry,” Steve soothed._

_“Please say it to me...” Bucky begged, looking over his hands at the blonde._

_Steve put the notebook down and leaned closer to the window._

_“I love you Bucky,” he confessed, smiling softly._

_Bucky choked out a happy laugh as tears welled in his eyes. He’d never heard that in his life, he never thought he would. Nor did he think he’d hear it from his best friend, his Steve, he was more than his best friend now, he was a lover._

_“I can’t wait to hold you when you get out Bucky,” Steve spoke shakily, his lip trembling. “You have no idea how hard it is to want to touch you and kiss you and tell you everything is going to be okay,” he added._

_“Like you said Stevie...you’ll get me out of here. We can make it happen then. I forgot what it was like to hug you. To be honest, I can’t wait,” Bucky answered._

_Steve smiled weakly._

_“I love you,” he hummed._

_“I love you too,” Bucky answered._

A door creaking dragged Bucky out of his memory recollection as he looked over at the guard. It was time.

“Time to get your sentence handed to you,” he issued.

Bucky stood, keeping his face neutral as he put his hands behind his back. The handcuffs were fitted tightly on his wrists as he was led down the hallway. He blocked out all the yelling and door banging with the thought of Steve. Bucky was hoping, praying that he’d get to go home, he wanted to feel safe again. The courthouse was right next to the jail and Bucky saw crowds of protesters and news reporters outside. His stomach tied in knots as they left through the front doors. The reporters were held back by police and extra security as protesters began chanting.

_“Bucky Barnes is not a villain!”_

_“Not guilty!”_

_“Hydra is to blame!”_

Their screams rang in his ears, and while it was reassuring to know a lot of people saw what Hydra had done, he still couldn’t help the sickening feeling in his stomach. They pushed through the doors of the courthouse as Bucky was led to the courtroom. On his way there he passed by Natasha and Tony. He had to look away immediately at the sight of Tony. But the pair watched Bucky walk by and Natasha looked at Tony with sympathy. Tony shook his head slightly.

“He can’t even look at us,” he spoke.

“I know...” Natasha soothed.

Outside, a black SUV pulled up as Steve got out, dressed in a suit as reporters swarmed him. He pushed his way through the crowds, focusing on getting into the courtroom before all of it began. The blonde was only focused on one thing and that was getting Bucky out of jail and into a safe and happy home. Steve was greeted by Sam who patted him comfortingly on the back as they met up with Tony and Natasha. The pair of them had somehow managed to get themselves in as part of the jury, Natasha was a witness making statements of Bucky’s apparent crimes.

“Ready to face the music fellas?” Natasha asked.

“Do I look like I’m ready?” Steve questioned.

“No, you look like you’re going to throw up,” she replied.

“Wow, funny,” the blonde grumbled.

“Come on guys, time to go in,” Sam issued.

They filed into the courtroom, Steve and Natasha parting with Tony and Sam halfway as they sat at the front of the gallery where reporters, loved ones and such could come in. People were whispering and talking away and Steve could vaguely hear what they were saying.

“I heard he was getting a little cozy with Captain America,” a woman spoke.

“Aren’t they an item now?” the other chuckled. “Wow, totally unexpected,” she added.

Steve turned around, with fury in his eyes as he glared at the pair.

“Hey you wanna’ shut up?” he hissed.

“Sorry,” the youngest woman replied.

The blonde sighed as he turned back around and saw Sam and Tony take their seats in the jury box. His eyes fell on the judge who came out, he looked calm and collected, he guessed they had to be.

“All rise," the bailiff spoke loudly.

Everybody in the courtroom stood and waited for the judge to be seated. When he had, everybody sat down once again. Steve was feeling anxious as he tapped his fingers on his knees, he was so damn nervous for what was to come. If Bucky had to keep staying in jail, Steve was going to go insane. The doors to the courtroom closed and Steve knew then and there that it was all about to begin.

“Court is now in session,” the bailiff mused. “Please bring out the defendant, James Buchanan Barnes, otherwise known as The Winter Soldier,” he continued.

Steve’s heart rate escalated as Bucky was brought out, cleaned up and dressed in fresh jail uniform. He was placed into the defendant box to the left of the judge, his handcuffs removed as he gingerly rubbed the red mark on his right wrist. The bailiff approached Bucky and made a gesture with his right hand, looking directly at Bucky.

“Please hold up your right hand,” he ordered.

Bucky obeyed.

“Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” he asked.

“I do,” Bucky replied.

Steve felt nervous sweat run down the back of his neck as he listened in on what was happening.

“Mr Barnes, you’re accused of several crimes involving various assassinations throughout several different decades and also the murder of Howard and Maria Stark. You’re also accused of associating with a powerful organization that had enough power to take control over an entire state,” the judge spoke. “Do you have anything to say to reject these claims?” he asked.

“Yes, your Honour,” Bucky answered.

The judge gave a nod for Bucky to continue.

“Your Honour...” he spoke, looking out across the courtroom at everyone, his eyes falling on Steve.

 _Stay calm_  he thought.

“Hydra were a powerful organization, I admit. But nobody has any idea of what went on behind closed doors. I was forced into doing all of these assassinations. I had no choice, I either did it or I died. Yet I wish I’d gone for the latter,” he continued.

Steve’s heart sunk.

“The Winter Soldier, he was a completely different person, not even a person actually, just a machine, a weapon. It wasn’t me, Bucky Barnes, who obeyed the orders and killed people. It was him. I would never harm anyone, ever. I served in the war, the 107th, I fought for this country so we could be free like it is today. Sadly I got captured by Hydra and here I was, murdering in cold blood without any remorse, with no idea of what I was doing. They tore me to pieces, stitched me back up, tore me again, it was an endless cycle. I got tortured, I had my memories wiped, I couldn’t even remember my own name,” he added, feeling himself choke up.

The judge stared at Bucky intently.

“I can’t say much else from what I’ve said. That’s all I know, all of what I can remember. All I know is that The Winter Soldier is dead to me now and I never want to go back down that road. Whatever the outcome, I won’t protest,” he spoke, truly and meaningfully.

“Thank you Mr Barnes, can we please have a witness...Miss-” he paused.

“Romanov, Natasha Romanov, your Honour,” she spoke, standing from her seat.

“Miss Romanov, would you come down to the witness box,” the bailiff instructed.

She did, with casual strides as she looked over at Bucky. The brunette caught her gaze and she nodded at him reassuringly. Bucky didn’t know why she would ever be on his side. She took the oath and stood in the witness box, eyes locked on Steve.

“Miss Romanov, what can you tell us about Mr Barnes, what have you seen?” the judge queried.

“I’ve seen a lot of bad things your Honour, very bad things. I myself, have done bad things. Everybody has red in their ledger, some for the right reasons, some for the wrong reasons. Bucky Barnes had red in his ledger for the right reasons, creating a brighter future for America. The Winter Soldier however, the red in his ledger was for the wrong, now who’s to say that they have the right to imply that these two are just one person?” she asked.

Silence.

“Exactly, nobody, because they aren’t the same person,” she continued.

Bucky’s eyes fell on her as she stared out at the gallery, then to the jury box.

“The Winter Soldier was a villain. Bucky Barnes is a hero,” she added.

The courtroom went into an uproar as the judge slammed his gavel down loudly.

“Order!” he exclaimed.

Everybody settled down immediately.

“Please continue, Miss Romanov,” he mused.

“Thank you your Honour,” Natasha replied. “I’d like to point out that Hydra brainwashed this soldier who only wanted to do good. They made him something he didn’t want to be. I think in his right mind, he’s glad he let go and let The Winter Soldier die, let it become a faded memory,” she explained. “I saw him as a threat, I truly did. Until I saw the man known as Bucky Barnes, screaming behind those distant eyes of his,” she breathed out.

Steve had to wipe a tear from his eye as he saw Bucky look away.

“Why should Bucky Barnes be guilty of something he had no control over? Why should he face the consequences of an organization that set out not only to use him, but turn him into a mindless villain when he didn’t deserve it? Not only that, I saw how my teammate Captain Rogers over there didn’t fight back against him because he knew deep down Bucky was still trapped inside. I think that says enough,” Natasha hummed.

“Mr Rogers,” the judge spoke.

“Your Honour,” Steve answered, standing in his seat.

“Is this even allowed?” a reporter whispered.

“Do you have anything to add to Miss Romanov’s statement?” he asked.

Steve took in a deep breath, before letting it out as he looked at Natasha, then to Bucky.

“Yes, your Honour, I do,” he replied.

“Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” the judge questioned.

“I do,” Steve spoke.

The judge nodded.

“All I can say to this is that nobody knows Bucky Barnes like I do. We were just two kids from Brooklyn, trying to do what was right. If anything I’m glad my best friend is still alive, just, I’m not glad with how it happened. The Winter Soldier was nothing more than an assassin. All Bucky needed was to have a lot of time out of cryostasis and time to recover. I can tell you now, he remembers Bucky Barnes, The Winter Soldier is nothing to him now,” the blonde explained.

“Objection your Honour, shouldn’t we be hearing from Mr Stark? He is the son of Howard and Maria after all,” a reporter spoke up.

"Overruled," the judge muttered.

Tony’s eyes fell on the reporter as he glared at her.

“Mr Stark?” the judge spoke, turning his attention to the brunette.

Tony stood.

“Your Honour, I ask all reporters in this room to be overruled of objecting to anything said in this courtroom for the rest of the trail. Bucky didn’t kill my parents, The Winter Soldier did,” he confessed.

Bucky’s eyes widened as he stared at Tony, gasps echoing through the room.

“If anything, Hydra were the ones who organized the entire layout, so that it would look like an accident. The Winter Soldier was their only source of ever getting that job done because they had no one else. I believe ever word Miss Romanov and Mr Rogers say. Bucky is a hero,” he added.

More uproar started as the judge slammed his gavel down again. By then, Natasha had walked back to the gallery to be with Steve.

“Order!” he yelled.

The silence was making Steve anxious all over again as he sat and Natasha came back to join him.

“The jury will now proceed to discuss their verdict and then come back to deliver it,” the judge continued.

Steve watched Tony, Sam and the other jury people leave the room, Natasha squeezing his hand gently. Bucky couldn’t look anywhere but down at his hands, he felt sick. Tony had defended him and he still couldn’t bear to look at him for more than a minute. He wanted this to be over, he wanted to know if he was going home or getting shoved back into that dank cell of his.

“He looks ill,” Natasha whispered.

“Nat, he looks like crap,” Steve growled, biting his lip irritably. “After everything he went through, he gets his ass thrown in jail and he has to deal with everything there. He got beat up there Natasha for Christ’s sake, I saw the bruises, even when he tried to hide them with his hair. Jail is no place for him, not right now, not ever,” he added.

“I know I know, calm down,” Natasha soothed.

The wait seemed so long, but the jury had a bit to discuss. Steve was still wondering why Tony had decided to defend Bucky. When he knew about what had actually happened he threatened to kill Bucky when he saw him. But maybe it was because he saw that Bucky was not the cause. Steve couldn’t stop his stomach from tying in knots as he squeezed Natasha’s hand for comfort.

“I want him to come home,” he sighed.

At that moment, the door swung open as the jury filed back into the room. Tony was the last to walk out behind Sam, his gaze coming up to look at Steve. They all stood in a line as the judge acknowledged their return, the whole courtroom falling silent again.

“Have you reached a verdict?” he queried.

“We have your Honour,” Tony spoke.

Sam looked from Tony, to Steve and then to Bucky, his eyes telling nothing of what was to come. Bucky had to look at Steve to keep himself calm, their eyes locked on each other. Steve mouthed an  _‘I love you’_  to the brunette who masked his smile easily behind his hair. A camera had been allowed in to broadcast the verdict live to the rest of America.

“We find the defendant...” he started, gaze going to the judge. “Not guilty,” he added.

Steve and Natasha cheered as they stood up and hugged each other tightly. Cheers could be heard outside the courthouse and some of the public who had managed to come in were cheering also. Reporters stood and actually held back from asking questions as celebrations ensued. The blonde pulled apart from Natasha as he saw Bucky being allowed out of the defendant box. He looked relieved and had to hold onto the side of the box for a moment to regain his composure. Steve stepped down from the gallery, as he wiped his eyes, waiting for Bucky to come into his waiting arms. The brunette walked over to Steve, who smiled, or at least tried to as the tears continued to fall. Bucky threw his arms around Steve as they embraced, Steve’s arms wrapping tightly around the brunette’s waist. The pair cried happily as Steve buried his face in the crook of Bucky’s neck, his breathing shaking a little.

“You’re okay Bucky, you’re free now,” Steve whispered.

“I-” Bucky paused, his grip tightening on Steve’s shirt. “I’m so fucking happy you have no idea,” he added.

The blonde nodded as he bit his lip, before pulling away. He cupped Bucky’s face in his hands and stared into his blue-grey eyes that were now so full of life.

“I love you Bucky,” he wavered, feeling more tears rise in his eyes.

“I love you too Steve,” the brunette replied.

Steve kissed Bucky then, their lips locking in a deep kiss, eyes falling closed. Bucky melted into the kiss, hands falling to Steve’s lower back. The blonde had waited so long to do that, and Bucky had waited so long to be embraced by Steve again. Natasha was weeping also as Tony and Sam joined them, Tony’s arm wrapping around Natasha’s shoulder comfortingly.

“Hey you two, save it for the honeymoon,” he joked.

The pair pulled apart, panting slightly as Steve turned his head to look at Tony. Bucky moved away from Steve as he turned to Tony, his eyes searching for any sign of tension.

“Tony...” Bucky spoke.

“Save it Barnes, just come here and give me a hug,” Tony replied.

Steve smiled as Bucky and Tony embraced warmly, sealing the open wound that they’d both felt for a very long time.

“Party at my house this weekend,” Tony chuckled, clapping the brunette on the shoulder. “We’ll leave you two alone now,” he added. “See you around Rogers, Barnes,” he hummed.

Bucky and Steve said goodbye to Sam, Tony and Natasha as they watched them leave. Steve laced his fingers through Bucky’s and pulled him close again, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“It’s been so long Steve,” Bucky whispered.

“I know,” Steve answered.

As they started to make their way out of the courtroom, they could see the crowds and the media trying to get by security. Bucky gripped Steve’s hand tighter as he thought about having to go out and face all of them.

“Right here with you Buck,” Steve soothed.

“Till the end of the line?” Bucky asked.

“Till the end of the line, babe,” Steve crooned, marvelling in the way Bucky laughed like he did years ago. “Let’s get you home,” he added.

 _Home_ , that’s what Bucky had wanted to hear all this time. And they still had a long road ahead, just the two of them. Together, because the journey just wasn't over yet.

 


End file.
